Rates partly published · Smithfield, RI
Flight training at Air Ventures Flying School
No aircraft rate. Air Ventures publishes a $90/hr instructor rate and nothing for the airplanes, so there is no total on this page.
Checked September 13, 2026 against Air Ventures flight training page.
- Based at
- North Central State Airport(SFZ)
- FAA part
- Not stated on their site
- Trains
- PPL · IR · CPL · CFI
- Phone
- 401-216-9359
- Website
- airventuresri.com
Section 1What is published
Air Ventures's own figures
Checked September 13, 2026 · Source
Flight instruction: $90/hr
Instruction is $90/hr when flying Air Ventures' own aircraft and $105/hr when instructing in a customer's aircraft, and the same rate covers flight and ground. The page carries its own date of February 2025. No aircraft rental rate is published anywhere: the fleet page describes 1964 to 1976 Cherokee 140s with Garmin glass and WAAS GPS, and prices none of them. Air Ventures does state an average Private Pilot total of $20,342.50 over roughly 65 flight hours, and describes that as about $325 per LESSON rather than per hour, so it cannot be turned back into an hourly aircraft rate.
Section 2Why there is no total
An estimate needs an aircraft rate.
A training total is hours multiplied by rates. With the airplanes unpriced there is nothing to multiply, and we will not fill the gap with a plausible number: every figure on this site carries a link that shows it today.
Aircraft rateMissing from their site
The airplane is the biggest line on a training bill.
What to compare their answer against
Not Air Ventures's rates. The middle of what 3 Rhode Island schools charge, to hold your phone quote against.
- Trainer, medianWhat the airplane costsRange $130 to $175 per hour.
- $150
- Instruction, medianWhat the instructor costsAcross 3 schools with published rates.
- $90
From the schools here that publish full rate cards, the same sample behind the Flight Training Cost Report. Air Ventures is not in it.
Section 3Paying for it
Two ways to pay for it.
Win what you can first, then borrow only what is left. Neither figure assumes anything about you: one is what our scholarship directory holds, the other is what the lenders publish.
- Money you keepScholarships you could apply for46 open to anyone, plus 1 in Rhode Island. Top awards reach $22,200.
- Aero Club of New England Flight Training Scholarships$1,000 – $10,000 · Check dates
- 47
- Money you pay backLenders that fund flight trainingSix lenders, compared on the limits and rates they publish. That is what is on offer, not whether you would be approved.
- 6
Section 4What to ask
What to ask when you call
The marked ones are what Air Ventures's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.
What is the hourly rate on your cheapest trainer, and which airplane is that?Missing from their site
This is the number that is missing from the site, and it is the largest line on your bill.
Is that rate wet or dry, meaning does it include fuel?Missing from their site
A dry rate and a wet rate are not comparable. Dry rates can run $40 to $60 an hour lower for the same airplane.
What does a Cherokee 140 rent for per hour, wet or dry?Missing from their site
The instruction rate is published to the dollar and the aircraft is not, which is the opposite of most schools and leaves the larger half of the bill unknown.
How long is an average lesson?
The school quotes about $325 per lesson rather than per hour. Without the lesson length that figure cannot be compared with any other school in this directory.
Do you offer block rates or prepay discounts, and what is the refund policy if I stop partway?
Block discounts are common and rarely published. The refund terms matter more than the discount.
What do you charge for the written test, the checkride, and the examiner's fee?
The DPE fee alone runs $800 to $1,200 in most of the country and is almost never in a quoted hourly rate.
How many trainers and how many full-time instructors do you have right now?
Availability decides your pace, and pace decides your total more than the hourly rate does.
Called them? Send us what they said.
Send the number over and Air Ventures Flying School gets a full listing with an estimate, marked as sourced by phone on the date you called.
Send what they told youSection 5Nearby schools
One other school flies from North Central State Airport.
It publishes a full rate card, so you can compare before you call. SFZ is the identifier to give when you ask.
- North Central Flight CenterFull rate card, Piper Warrior at $175/hr and $90/hr instructionSmithfield
3 Rhode Island schools publish a full rate card.
Each one has an estimate built on its own published rates. Listed alphabetically, because ordering them by price would be a ranking this page is not making.
- Horizon AviationWarwick, RI · Checked August 20, 2026$150/hr$95/hr instruction
- North Central Flight CenterSmithfield, RI · Checked September 10, 2026$175/hr$90/hr instruction
- Westerly AviationWesterly, RI · Checked September 8, 2026$130/hr$70/hr instruction
Section 6Sources
- That the school exists
- Air Ventures flight training pageChecked September 13, 2026
- The rates above
- Air Ventures flight training pageChecked September 13, 2026
Are you Air Ventures Flying School? Send your rate card and this becomes a full listing with an estimate, free. Or have it removed.
This page says one thing is not stated on your site. Send us where it is published and it shows here instead.
- What your aircraft rent for per hourSend it
PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Air Ventures Flying School. School names are used only to identify the school. Rates shown are the school's own published figures with the date we checked them. This page carries no PilotBound estimate, because the school does not publish enough for one. Disclaimer & removal policy.
Other Rhode Island flight schools
- Horizon Aviation · Warwick
- Newport Aviation · Middletown
- North Central Flight Center · Smithfield
- Simmons Aviation Services · Westerly
- Westerly Aviation · Westerly
Plan the money before you commit
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